In Maya Amolo’s 2024 EP What a Feeling, the object of her affection is her home city: Nairobi. Describing herself as “a subject to the vibes, like stardust in the atmosphere,” in the opening track; she sings of a surrender to the night-time that is as certain as the sun falling to make way for the moon and the stars. In the five-track love letter to Nairobi, the singer-songwriter not only situates the city’s night-life as worthy of reverence in itself, but also as a metaphor for the life cycles she has endured within it.
The Kenyan artist debuted with the EP Leave Me at the Pregame in 2020. She then released her first official album Asali in 2022, its deluxe version Asali (Sweeter) in 2023, and finally What a Feeling in 2024. The chronology of the releases magnifies the distinct qualities of each project and the shifts in the singer-songwriter’s sensibilities. Leave Me at the Pregame, whose songs are often described as ballads, speaks to having loved and lost. Asali invites more levity and embraces traditional R&B elements, as Amolo’s newfound moniker “the sweetest girl” manifests musically. She trades in grief for hope, takes more chances in her vocal delivery, and in the deluxe offering, she brings on more features including Kenyan stars Bensoul, Xenia Manasseh and Zowie Kengocha.
Tracing a line through the projects exposes What a Feeling to be somewhat of a rogue addition to her discography. A lyric from the third song of the EP, Take It (co-produced with Cap and Muthondu) describes it perfectly: “we switching gears, let go of your fears, I’ll take it from here.” What a Feeling surpasses its predecessors precisely because of its command; the singer-songwriter is authoritative as she articulates a clear story. There is a satisfying narrative from opener to closing, from sunset to sunrise, whilst preserving each song’s standalone quality. Vocal choices that would be described as delicate in previous releases, take on a more confident quality here; as if she knew the songs didn’t need much embellishment to shine. Even the What A Feeling visualiser, a compilation of cam-corder videos of her and her loved ones in the city, has the charming simplicity of a home video.
Perhaps the most obvious way that What a Feeling is an ode to Nairobi’s nightlife is that it is a dance album. Its production hinges on an array of dance sub-genres and signatures, most of which have current city and global relevance. There are dancehall infusions, electronic synths layered atop each other, and percussion drums forming songs’ bass lines. But it does so without compromising neither Amolo’s essence, nor her R&B roots. Each song makes you want to dance in a way that we have seen the young star doing many times on her Instagram; with a body roll, a slow whine, a perfectly manicured finger in the mouth.
In the middle of December, Maya was in the throes of preparation for a Jagermeister Masterclass and acoustic performance. In between phone calls with her team where she decidedly gave directions and received some in return, the young Kenyan star and I chatted about What a Feeling, career hopes and anxieties, and her love for Nairobi.
Do you like performing?
I do like performing. I’d like to think that I can perform. I wish I was better at it though. I think doing acoustic brings me back to my voice. I like the bigger [performances] with all the bells and whistles too, but I think I need an annual acoustic performance as a reminder that like ok you're a singer, you can do this.
You sounded a little hesitant as you were answering that. How come?
I don't know. I feel like this year more than any other year, I think I've been…ok so, I'm on Xenia [Manasseh]’s close friends [on Instagram] and whenever I see her prepping for performance, I see all the work that goes into it, and I'm just like, oh shit I'm so far behind. But I got a vocal coach and I’ve been going to the gym. I know that I'm a good performer and I know that I have the potential to be even better.
You’re not a stranger to putting in work though. Off stage, you show up pretty consistently, especially when it comes to promoting your music on social media.
I do. Although I think before, it used to be out of anxiety. At the beginning of the year, around March, I cut my dreads, and I had this big irrational fear that no one would recognize me because I've had my dreads for so long. I think I generally have this fear of not being memorable. So around my first EP and then later my first album, I was posting a lot just so people don't forget me. Last year, I was like ok, I'm being kind of ridiculous, no one's going to actually forget. I'm not just going to fade into oblivion. So I'm having more fun with it now.
What came first for you; singing or songwriting?
Singing came first.
When was that?
I remember singing from when I was born, I didn't cry, I just started belting, like, “I've arrived.”
How much later did writing come?
I wrote a song as a joke called Dance when I was nine.
That’s very cute.
Yeah, it was a little pop tune. But then I started writing properly when I got to high school because we had slam poetry. It was also around the time that I was hearing more music that I could see myself doing. So I'd look up ‘Jhene Aiko type beats’ and do a cover of the song and then replace the second verse with my own verse.
How do you feel your writing has changed over the years?
Well the process has become easier now. But also I'm trying to say less. I think I still fill too many gaps with words. I used to be very pressed and a little bit pretentious in my writing. Now I'm trying to rely more on the vibes and the flow and the melody and everything else.
How are you making that change?
I think I’m just happier. Leave Me at the Pregame is just like…I'm just saying too much. It came out in 2021 and there was a specific person I wanted to hear me but in hindsight they were never gonna actually hear me. I think it was also a time when it was edgy to be angsty and mysterious, which is just like, oh brother. I'm still very proud of the EP and I have a lot of empathy for the person I was when I wrote it but I just thought I was better than everyone because I was so deep and pensive, which is silly. I also had big issues with over explaining myself back then. So when I was feeling sad, I didn’t think I could just say I’m sad and expect to be taken seriously, it had to be this big, deep description of my sadness.
Might that be linked to why you're trying to write less now?
I think so. I think I can just use my voice. When you're sad, you can say, “I'm sad,” or you can cry and people will know how you're feeling. Or when I’m happy I can say “I’m overwhelmed with joy,” or I can laugh, which is simple but it gets the point across. Also, I’ve started working with producers that I really admire and I want to give space to the beat too.
Is writing a daily practice for you, or do you write when you get an idea?
I remember thinking I wanted to write every day, but it’s actually something I like to save for when I'm in the studio. It's almost like a treat because I enjoy it so much. I never want it to become monotonous. Sometimes I'll think of a random lyric and I’ll add it to the notes app on my phone. But for a full song, I want to do that when I'm in the studio.
What does an ideal studio session look like for you?
I really love to be productive. I like studio sessions where I work really well on one song. But for What a feeling we were in the studio from about 11pm to like 5am. We did, What a Feeling, Let it Flow and Take It and it was incredible.
Oh, so you are good at knowing when a song is done?
Yes.
No dwelling or constantly trying to go back and fix something?
No. I know when I’m overcooking something and it’s like; we can always come back tomorrow or next week to figure it out. There's an abundance of creativity here, we don’t need to dwell.
Are you a writing in a corner type of person or do you like a lively studio with chatting and that sort of thing?
I've always kind of been a writing in my corner type of person, but after the Spotify writing camp, I don’t know anymore. I was in two rooms; one with Lisa Oduor, Ukweli and Manana, and I was very much writing in my corner because I was so intimidated. I had to leave that room because it became a bit too overwhelming. I went outside and I cried, and then I came back into a room with Mbryo, who I was so scared to even interact with because he's written some of my favorite Ayra Starr songs. But it was in that room that I was able to do the whole back and forth writing thing where everyone is kind of chipping in. I think it helps when I have friends around because Lukorito and MAUIMØON were also in that room.
I want to talk about partying because you have a lot of nightlife motifs in your music. What space does partying have in your life?
A good space I’d say. Unfortunately, I love Nairobi. It’s a blessing and a curse but damn, I love this city. Lately, so much of how I've been experiencing Nairobi has been through nightlife and with What a Feeling, I wanted to make an album that shows that.
You mentioned earlier that you recorded most of What a Feeling in one night. Did you have a concept in mind going in, or did you record a few songs and realise they could work together as an ode to Nairobi?
The latter actually. Cap sent the beat for What a Feeling beforehand but nothing came to me initially. When I went to the studio with him and Milan who played guitar on the song, we had the studio all night and it came together. But it wasn't until a lot later that I realised that all these songs remind me of Nairobi in the night time.
What was the process of going from having songs with a similar vibe to actually building an EP?
When I wrote the second verse for What a Feeling, I became very emotional about it. Actually, all of the songs made me feel quite emotional but that verse is about coming back from the shit I was going through, and I kept thinking I refuse to be sad in my own city. That’s when I decided to intentionally make all the songs about Nairobi. I wrote The Moment a while ago and I was quite sad when I wrote it but once I worked on the other three songs on the EP, it transformed the meaning of the song.
The Take It remixes by Soundlykbb and SGaWD were released earlier this month. Why did you choose to remix that song?
I knew who I wanted to get on a remix before I knew what song I wanted to remix. And I feel like the two producers both fit the vibe of Take It the most.
You play around with language describing food and the idea of sweetness in your music. It’s very sensual. In both Asali and What a Feeling there are many moments where I find that my senses are being awoken.
Oh my god, thank you for saying that.
Is sensuality something you intentionally turn on for your music or are you naturally that way inclined?
I think it is natural. I've heard so much from my partner that I’m sensual so I think it is natural. I do think that if I want to get across what I'm saying, it has to be as much of an all round experience as possible. So I want you to hear my voice, but also see what I'm seeing and feel what I’m feeling and taste it too. I love metaphors. I also love ASMR, it's very calming to me. I just love sounds. You know, the beginning of Princess Going Digital when Amaarae is talking? I love that shit.
I get that. Sensuality doesn’t have to be sexy but it often is and I think Amaarae is a great reference for that. Her music is sexier because it arouses the senses.
Yeah, it’s really in the command of that sensuality. And the difference between hyper sexual and sensual is simply in the lyrics. I feel like more people need to listen to sexy songs written by women. Janet Jackson did it perfectly. Sensuality from women is sexy. We need more songs from our point of view. I really want to get that shit off.
You were one of the six Kenyan artists featured on COLORSxSTUDIOS last year and you recorded your own show! What was that like?
Oh, my God, so stressful. I've never doubted myself so bad before. The way it works is you send them a couple of songs and they pick the song that they want, but initially they were just like, hey, can you send a couple more? And I was like, huh? These are my best songs? So that was the beginning of my end of year spiral. I think I was just so anxious because I wanted it so badly. But honestly it was a very affirming moment. So many of the artists that I listened to when I was in high school I discovered on COLORS. Goldlink and Masego and many such people. Even Billie Eilish. So when they hit me up, I just wanted it so badly that every single email I would get would give me so much anxiety. But when I eventually got on set, it started to feel real and it was just so fun.
How did you feel about the show’s reception?
Yeah, it was nice but it was also a bit weird. I remember at some point the conversation online became anti R&B because they didn’t think the artists were representative of Kenya or whatever. Do you remember that on Twitter? I remember getting into a few Twitter beefs just being like, you guys never do this shit when HipHop or another genre is being put on the map. But apart from that, it was really nice. I had friends that I would watch the COLORS shows with in high school that I haven't spoken to in a while, hitting me up like, “this is so sick.” And because the show has made some viral moments, like Oxlade’s Ku Lo Sa performance, my older relatives got it too and they were proud of me. I was like, you think I'm not doing shit, but here's me on a show you know. So that was nice.
How are you dealing with increased fame from the COLORS show and your music releases in general?
My gosh it just motivates me more. Unfortunately, I'm one of those very strange people who would rather be famous than rich. I don't know why it has just always been so glamorous to me. I was recently re-watching all of the Billie Eilish Vanity Fair interviews where she just gets progressively more depressed before it picks up again so I know how fame can get. But I absolutely love every moment when I'm out at the club or whatever and someone is like “oh my god, is that Maya, Maya Amolo,” I'm just like, fuck yes. I’m a leo rising, does it show?
Just a little [laughs].
I used to be obsessed with metrics online, like how many followers I have, how many streams I have. I’d think ok on this song I have 200,000 streams, but nobody wants a photo with me. And I know it'll eventually get harder, because while I’d like to think I'm an extrovert, I do get very anxious when I go out. But fame is something that I'm happy and excited to eventually deal with, because to me, it’s a direct indication of how well I'm doing. Unfortunately, if I get rushed at the supermarket, that sucks, but it’d still be directly tied to how many more people care about what I'm doing, you know?
I want to ask you to talk about your love for Nairobi a little more, specifically on living through the current political climate.
I hate the governor. You can put that in there. I wish everybody could love Nairobi. Like, I’m aware of the fact that I love Nairobi because I can. I did the TANGAZA Magazine A Day In The Life video, and it was all fun and games for me to go out and go to Westlands and be like “I love Nairobi so much.” But then it's just like, there's so much that needs to be fixed. Like the roads are shit, the lights don't work, the drainage doesn't work. There were floods in March [2024] where people's livelihoods were just being swept away. So it's like, I love Nairobi, but it needs a lot of work. Also, sorry, can I just say, I’m so happy you didn’t ask me the usual questions I get asked by interviewers.
Oh like how you got into music?
Yeah it's so boring, I’m like, ask me something problematic.
Well, many artists don’t want to be challenged by interviewers. Why are you keen to be challenged?
I think that so many of my favorite artists that I grew up on always have a media moment of craziness and personality, so that you know that they are real. Like I love Kanye West, because I'm just like, he's so real and like, you see him and his personality, character and the music just makes sense. But I also sometimes think with artists that don’t do that, maybe they're just working, you know? Like, I don't go to work at an office and demand that people tell me much about their personal life in order for me to believe that this thing they put out is true.
I get that.
Like I'm always looking forward to when I'm interviewed by a problematic interviewer then we argue for 20 minutes and then I walk off set.
[laughs] what would the argument be about? Or actually instead of a hypothetical, what music arguments do you find yourself having a lot right now?
Oh, the whole thing around what counts as Kenyan music or what isn’t Kenyan enough.
What do you mean by that?
Basically, the whole thing around the COLORS shows. People saying that we were platforming westernized genres and I just find it so fucking boring. And it feels very pretentious to get into the politics of being a settler colony and why we do the things that we do, you know? Spotify Wrapped is always such a big mindfuck for me, because people will be talking about “Kenyan music used to be Kenyan,” but why is Drake your number one artist? Why is Future your number one artist? Like, let's actually talk about why that is.
There seems to be a disconnect between how people view Kenya’s music history and the music you and your peers make. Almost as if you are not an extension of that history.
Yeah and meanwhile people love Camp Mulla. And there’s the whole thing about Kenyan music having no identity. It was the best day of my life when Amaarae tweeted that Camp Mulla got her through junior high school or something. Because with the emergence of alté in West Africa, or when Nasty C visited, I think he also mentioned how that shit would not have happened without Camp Mulla. And that was a Kenyan group who very much paved the way for the music now. So, I just have to tap out because it's boring at this point.
I get you. Are you working on anything currently?
Oh I thought you’d never ask [laughs] I’m working on a lil LP that I’m putting out next year. I’ve been working with Cap all year, as well as some of my favourite collaborators.
Exciting! Can you give us any names?
I don’t think I can. But a couple of Kenyan artists, a Ugandan artist and a Nigerian one too.
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